Boat Show On Course To Start On Time

October 21, 2005

After reviewing the most recent data on Hurricane Wilma, organizers of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show decided Thursday to push ahead with preparations for the event and are still aiming to open as originally scheduled Oct. 27.

"We decided that the worst-case scenario for us would be a Category 2 storm hitting the state near Naples, and that it would be down to Category 1 by the time it hits us," said Kaye Pearson, president of Yachting Promotions Inc., the Fort Lauderdale company that produces and manages the event. Currently, Wilma is expected to make landfall on the west coast of Florida sometime Sunday or Monday.

"The outlook now is a pretty dramatic change from what we were expecting Wednesday," he added. "We're doing this day by day and if it looks like it's going to be a Category 5 storm in Naples, we'll change our plans."

The current plan is to set up equipment that can withstand the 75-80 mph winds a Category 1 storm typically generates, and begin placing hundreds of boats in slips at five marinas when it is safe to move them.

Pearson on Wednesday began shifting some equipment and tents out of the show area in anticipation of the storm and put a hold on moving boats into marinas to be used for the event. But by Thursday he had brought in several hundred workers to move freight back into the show's grounds. His group also sent out faxes and e-mails to hundreds of exhibitors and boat owners and captains, advising them of revised schedules for bringing in boats and equipment.

More than 90 percent of the infrastructure for the enormous project, which is expected to have exhibits covering 3 million square feet, is already in place. Yachting Promotions crews and contract workers began the first steps in putting together the show at the beginning of October.

One of the world's largest marine events, the show plans to display 1,600 boats, nautical and fishing equipment and accessories. With sites at five marinas and the Broward County Convention Center, the show has electric power, water, air conditioning, restaurants, concession stands and other facilities that can handle tens of thousands of visitors daily.

Last year, the event attracted more than 128,000 visitors and had an economic impact of about $600 million on the region, according to Yachting Promotions estimates.

During bad weather, exhibitors can continue setting up at the Convention Center, which houses boats up to about 40 feet in length and is protected from storms. But the other five sites are marinas that are exposed to the elements.

Placing so many boats at marinas in a short period of time is a complicated business. More than 1,000 boats at Bahia Mar and two adjacent marinas, for example, must be docked according to a detailed plan when the waters are calm. In 1982, a storm hit the show, which was then at Port Everglades, cutting attendance and causing damage to some boats.

One of the organizers' biggest concerns was what to do with enormous tents, measuring up to 262 feet long and 156 feet wide, that will house hundreds of exhibitors.

These building-size tents, erected on steel frames, are designed to withstand winds of 75-80 mile per hour, and are being reinforced with extra braces and steel cables. Smaller and less sturdy tents have been temporarily dismantled until the storm passes. The show has about 200,000 square feet of tents for exhibitors.

For information on the show, call 954-527-9332 or see www.showmanagement .com.